Remembering Brawl

[ぱみゅ]

This article made it feel like BBrawl changed something from Brawl's overall gameplay. lol

 

[Daftatt]

Brawl will live on as the base game for Project M. But I'll always remember gently floating through the air trying to get a follow-up.

 

[HeavyLobster]

Brawl was always fun for me. I've actually played it more than any other Smash entry, and it got me interested in competitive Smash. I even enjoyed watching it competitively, at least until the meta devolved into a staring contest between MK and ICs. It might not be perfect, but it'll always hold a special place in my heart.

 

[210stuna]

The only good thing to come out of Brawl was Project: M

 

[---]

The game may not have been as fun competitively, but the game took up more hours of my life than any game before it and has given me 8 years of constant enjoyment that will continue well on into the future even as we leave it behind.

 

[Sonicthesneak]

I can sum up Brawl with my first week of it. Quick story.

My friends waited outside of our Gamestop in the mall to pick up our copies of Brawl. We had to catch the game, hurry up and run to the Bus Stop to catch the last Bus back to Campus for the night.

We all ran home, popped in my copy of the game and played for the night. We all had a strange feeling of the game feeling slow. I told my friends "It's that new game feel. We'll break it in, in a few days. Relax."

A few crazy fights later with exploding bombs, Smash Balls and Pit's arrow spam, we all went to bed happy. Throughout the week, I spent my Brawl time unlocking all the characters and beating the SSE.

Come next week, I take the game to my friends house so we can play it with him. He's the tourney guy. The man to beat. We get there and play again and that slow issue comes back up. I give everyone the "give it time" speech and we keep playing it.

About a few months in, no one is really up to play the game. Something just feels off. Fox and Falco don't feel right. Sonic's too weak and Mewtwo was cut. My Tourney friend can't Wave Dash either and while that makes me happy a lot of the gang moves on to something else.

For the rest of college, Brawl is played with items and 2 or 3 friends who never played Melee. Interest in Brawl doesn't kick back in... until the Wii is modded and crazy characters are introduced. Mewtwo is back. Roy is back. Falco returns to normal.

All of my friends come back to the game. Project M is out and about. But before we can truly get into the swing of things... Smash 4 is announced. Everyone disappears to make sure they don't buy Smash 4 and get disappointed again. They all go back to offline Melee or offline Project M with local friends.

I liked Brawl. A lot. It brought Sonic into the mix. And I loved that. But it seems that so much was lost... for the little that was gained... and all of my gaming friends just gave up on it. Now I am the only one watching the game unfold bit by bit. So I will miss Brawl for what it was... but I will remember it more for what it represented: the game that just put the breaks on everything "fun" to my friends about Smash Bros.

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

I hope Melee fans suck it up and growl up with new releases even after 6 years laters.

Melee is good but grow the hell up when it comes to preference.

 

[LoneWolfRanger]

I remember when i first got my hands on the game... i did so much effort to get a freeloader + an american version. I was so hyped, i couldnt wait. However, already the first time i entered a battle, things felt kinda slow or something.... it felt weird. Even battling with a friend caused me to rage a lot, since i really began to hate how uncontrollable it felt. Then along came project m.... And then i friggin loved it!

 

[Hapajin]

Although Smash 4 will probably replace Brawl for me, I won't be forgetting Brawl any time soon. I credit Brawl with bringing me back into the Smash community.

Melee and PM on the other hand...

 

[Spire]

Thank you Brawl. I've been playing Smash since I rented a Japanese port of Smash 64 back in '99, but Brawl brought me to this community. It had a certain effect on my friends and I, propelling our competitive spirit and collecting our time spent around such a campfire; I will forever have fond memories of transitioning from high school through college thanks to this game.

It was Brawl's flaws that sparked the bulk of modding; without its imperfections, we simply wouldn't have the likes of Project M. I am happy to have watched everything transpire these past 6 years.

Here's to you Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

 

[ACDC]

The good thing about brawl is that it was so flawed that people got the initiative to do project M. Maybe if it was just a little better, but not good enough really the smash community would not be as strong. The whole game just felt rushed.

 

[Delzethin]

Go in peace, Brawl. May your successor mend this fractured fanbase.

I've felt for a long time like Brawl didn't get a fair shot. Sure, it was slower paced, it wasn't as flashy as Melee, and there were a couple...questionable design choices (*glares at random tripping*), but it had a lot going for it. The more defensive-minded metagame favored strategy and being able to out-think your opponent more than out-react them. While there were issues with infinites and ledge stalling and other things, overall the game didn't feel like it catered toward any one type of character, whereas Melee's mechanics heavily favored hyper-aggressive tactics. While Meta Knight reigned supreme a little too well, the rest of the tier list felt like a steady line of viability, to the point where one could argue it was actually more balanced than Melee. And even the worst characters still have a few things going for them--take it from a Kirby main, Brawl Ganondorf could hand Melee Kirby's ass to him.

I'm really glad the focus for SSB4 is on creating a blend of Melee's and Brawl's styles that can appeal to everyone. It really is the best way to handle a franchise that's gained mass appeal to casual and hardcore gamers both.

So, who's up for the Direct later? Let's see what the future has in store for Smash.

Come on, Robin...

 

[roymustang1990-]

Ugh,not the best article to read,too much reflecting on why brawl is inferior to melee near the end,it's stuff like this that kept me from buying brawl for the longest time,and despite the popular opinion among the community,I'm more in favor of brawl

I'm hoping that smash 4 won't divide the smash crowd even more.

 

[WindMajor]

It wouldn't be the Smash community if it wasn't divided.

#twounits

 

[Thor]

I hope Melee fans suck it up and growl up with new releases even after 6 years laters.
Melee is good but grow the hell up when it comes to preference.

People have the right to play whatever the hell they want. If they don't want to play Smash 4, don't try to get them to play the game. Let them enjoy what they enjoy.

That said, people should also really learn to shut up about games of the Smash series they don't like. If you don't like one, fine, you don't need to decry it as a bad game when that's subjective and also unhelpful to the community as a whole.

With that said, I'll keep playing Brawl right alongside Smash 4, unless all the Brawl players I know "convert", at which point I'll practice Brawl stuff alone and weep inside at my loss.

 

[Mavrek]

I don't think SSB4 will be a repeat of Brawl at all, Nintendo has learned from their mistakes and we have all seen how they are now truly reaching out to the competitive community. I have faith.

 

[Kuraudo]

I have a lot to be thankful for in Brawl. I didn't accomplish what I'd hope to set out to do. I didn't train hard enough, but in the end, I made a name for myself and met some amazing people along the way. It's not high spots, but I can say I've placed in many different tournaments using a character that others frowned upon.

I've travelled to Hawai'i for Smash, throughout the states to experience both Genesis 1 & 2, attended Apex 2012, made it all the way to Japan to become the only qualifying Canadian to make it into the pro bracket at Sunrise. Though my placing wasn't high and I got bopped hard by Nietono, I have no regrets. WHOBO 3 was a fantastic experience for me and I'll never forget how welcoming the Texas crew was to me. It wasn't just Brawl, it was Smash as a whole.

For me, Brawl actually made me into an even better Melee and Project: M player. It taught me so much about the fundamentals of how to score stocks, how to make the right reads, how to apply pressure. No game is perfect, and neither was 64 or Melee. Brawl taught me so much and I owe my success and my drive to become a top player in Smash 4 to that game.

Brawl taught me that in order to succeed, even with a lower tier character, is to accept my own weaknesses. Actually, I remember Gimpyfish saying something about that and it stuck with me. I took Sonic's weaknesses and focused my strengths around them. I love this community and my only frustrations have been listening to the very vocal battle between the Melee and Brawl community.

It's going to happen again when Smash 4 comes out. It will not be Melee. It's going to be the next Super Smash Bros. If I see the same animosty that happened six years ago, I can't say I'll be staying around Smashboards as much as I used to anymore. It's the only sore spot in the community I think we need to find a way to heal from.

Marvel 2 is respected for its high caliber gameplay, but we don't see Marvel vs. Capcom 3 being stomped on either. Not as hard as Brawl has in the wake of its release and Melee's now sudden (and well deserved mind you) ressurgence that helped grab Nintendo's attention.

--

Mango, Hungrybox, anybody who has gone on record before to state their dislike for Brawl, I want you and everyone else to understand something.

I learned something about myself, as a player; not just from Brawl, but from Super Smash Bros. as a whole. I won't tell you that you can learn something from Brawl, because we all grow and adapt individually in different ways. But I remember someone like Armada who is a titan in the Melee scene, when he entered Brawl at the first Genesis and scored 13th place out of nowhere, as Sheik. He surely takes Melee as his true drive and it shows, as do anyone else who thrives in the Melee scene. Those top level Brawl players work hard and train just as hard as you guys do, and when you guys retire from Smash, you'll be thanking Melee for everything it taught you and gave you in life just the same as myself and thousands of other people thank Brawl for what it gave to us.

In short, see where we are coming from and how we continued to expand our game just the same as you expanded yours. Tell us you don't like it if you're asked. But nurture this new game and encourage us to evolve, because we're not going to let Melee die either. We're all on the same website, same facebook groups with friends, same tournaments sharing limelight no matter the numbers. It's not a contest, it's a statement to what we can do together.

And if I see any of you playing Smash 4? I'd be happy to take you on. I see any one of you playing Melee? I'd love to expand my Marth and Sheik game some more.

All in all (this wasn't short lol), let's all just play Smash Bros., and go even further.

Thank you Brawl. Thanks to you, I'm now ready for Smash 4. I'm going for the top. See you all later on the way there.

 

[hotdogturtle]

The Unity Ruleset Committee, or the URC, was formed by a number of the largest tournament organizers and late in the year they announced that, beginning in early 2012, Meta Knight would be banned. After 4 months where about half of all tournaments banned the character the URC disbanded and the ban did not hold.

Lol, what a ****fest this was. Let's all come together and promise that something like this will never happen again.

 

[Kuraudo]

Lol, what a ****fest this was. Let's all come together and promise that something like this will never happen again.

inb4 the Greninja ban.

 

[Teran]

Brawl was a whirlwind I'll give it that. Face it though, that hype reveal in 2006, never to be replicated.

Then the controversy...

SAKURAIIIIIIIII

 

[TreK]

I never got why MK was unbanned. I had to quit smash for about a year at one point. Anybody care to tell me ?

In any case, my scene might be dead, and I may have moved on to Project M, but I'll always be a Brawler at heart. I've enjoyed every second I've played this game, until the very end.

 

[ChickenWing13]

So long Brawl. Have a nice 'trip'.

Hah, I made a funny.

The game may not have been as fun competitively, but the game took up more hours of my life than any game before it and has given me 8 years of constant enjoyment that will continue well on into the future even as we leave it behind.

8 years? Brawl has only been out for 6 years.

 

[dRevan64]

good riddance to bad rubbish ;_;7

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

For the sake of my health, I'm gonna avoid reading the opinion-forcing, negativity-reeking comments that an article about Brawl tends to attract.

With that said, I had a great time with Brawl, despite it's imperfections. As a competitive player in my day I attended several tournaments for both Melee and Brawl.
However, the multiplayer aspect of the Smash games have also always been as important as the competitive one for me. In my household we were four siblings, which is why games with a four-player mode became very significant to us; Mario Kart, Mario Party, Smash Bros., etc. gave us hours of entertainment. Having matches with Items turned on while playing with friends or family never got old for me.

 

[DakotaBonez]

F@#$ Yeah let's start splitting up the community again! Project M master race hooooooo!

jk...

 

[D-idara]

RIP Brawl, despite all flaws, it was truly a great game and really got me into videogames as a whole. Here's for Smash4, I'm sure it'll be better than every game on the series in every possible way!

 

[JediLink]

I'm so glad that we can all finally move on from that farce of a Smash game.

 

[666blaziken]

Spoiler alert: SSB4 isn't Melee either. The purists will continue to hate any game that isn't Melee.

Project M 2 incoming!

There likely won't be a project M 2, at least it won't be made by the same people. The wiiu is considered unhackable as of now, and PMBR themselves said that they want to just focus on perfecting the project they currently have now.

 

[---]

8 years? Brawl has only been out for 6 years.

I'm from the future. Ridley was too big.

I can't count.

 

[TheLegendaryKRB]

I like Melee better but I'm gonna miss Brawl.

 

[HugoBoss]

Hey, Brawl, we'll miss you. But You will always live on in the superior Project M

Thy way I see it, Brawl focused on Quantity>Quality, which explains why it succeeded Melee in everything BUT the actual gameplay and combat. Still a good game neverles. RIP Brawl. Without you, the fanbase actually would have fared better, but who would want a stable fanbase?

 

[proxibomb]

The smash community brought Brawl into the smash community, I seriously don't get why it took Nintendo until to start supporting us. Let's hope they don't bail on us when Smash 4 is realeased and fans finally start to react.

 

[Moon Monkey]

I'll forget about brawl when smash 4 comes out.

 

[LiteralGrill]

"will the community embrace it or be divided?"

We're already fighting over 3DS vs Wii U. So nope, we're going to be idiots and do Melee vs Brawl all over again. Those who even DO know history bound to repeat it. :/

 

[Clocked]

I feel like with our community as it is now, Melee will always be the mainstay from here on out, along with the latest game in the franchise. RIP Brawl.

 

[Claire Diviner]

I was one of those people who jumped ship from Melee to Brawl, and stuck with Brawl with the mindset that Brawl was the better game. As time went on, the lack of hitstun, speed, and the inclusion of tripping became more and more apparent, and by the time I wanted to go back to Melee, I was way too rusty to return. For what it's worth, Brawl was a great game on its own (when not comparing it to Melee), and it is probably the only console game that can be modded from said console, which paved way for a lot of creativity (including Project M).

The tournaments were also very hype. Who doesn't remember Apex with Mew2King vs. Brood (and that wasn't even Grand Finals), or Mew2King vs. Salem? Brawl may not be as technically "perfect" as Melee (or Project M for that matter), but it did create more than enough hype for even Melee players to respect it, whether they like the game or not.

With the advent of Smash 4, I had thought it wouldn't be as successful with the loss of the Gamecube controller. Then Nintendo drops a bombshell confirming GCN controller support, and seeing as the game appears to play very similarly to Brawl, I'm sure many Brawl players who own a Wii U will jump ship and stick to Smash 4. Will Brawl be relevant again? Sadly, I predict that Brawl, while still having a competitive scene, will be heavily overshadowed by Melee, Project M, and Smash 4 (assuming Smash 4 really is a masterpiece).

Brawl was fun. It still is fun. Whether it becomes relevant or not in the competitive community, we must never forget the impact it made to the Smash franchise.

 

[Mr.Random]

So basically, everyone was being a **** about Brawl because it wasn't Melee lol. Ah the people these days. I remember Brawl's release more then Melee. What a day that was :D

Thanks for saying everyone. Because you know that means that you're saying I was that way.

 

[Pazzo.]

It's sad that Brawl will pass away, but I look forward to the future of SSB4. Hopefully more people will shift over to SSB4 from Melee so we can avoid the catastrophic event that was the Smash community divide.

 

[Richard 89]

I'll never forget the friends I made as well as the people I played on brawl, it was a very good time. Well disregarding a lot of the trolling I've witnessed, the experience was worth it, while it lasted.

 

[Mr.Random]

Really hoping this doesn't start another Melee vs. Brawl war on here. If someone tries to initiate it then they should be banned or be punished.